Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes, cells that are derived from the neural crest. Melanoma can spread by local extension (through lymphatics) and/or by hematogenous routes to distant sites. Any organ may be the site for metastases, but lungs and liver are common sites.
In humans subjects, clinical staging of melanoma is based on whether the tumor has spread to regional lymph nodes or distant sites. Human patients with Stage IV, or metastatic melanoma, have cancer that has spread from its site of origin to distant lymph nodes and/or distant sites. Additional prognostic factors for Stage IV melanoma include site of distant metastases and elevated blood enzyme LDH levels.
The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) has designated staging by TNM classification to define melanoma. Stage IV melanoma is defined by the following clinical stage grouping: any primary tumor (T), any metastasis to a regional lymph node (N), and a distant metastasis (M).
Overall, AJCC Stage IV melanoma has a dismal survival of 6-9 months from diagnosis and only a 1-2% 5 year survival. However, more advanced Stage IV melanoma with widespread or rapidly appearing metastases has an even shorter survival time of some 3-6 months, with essentially a zero 5 year survival. Surgery for isolated metastases is an option for a subgroup of patients with Stage IV melanoma, and occasionally chemotherapy can be effective in specific instances, but these options are usually not available for widespread metastatic disease and response rates to any form of standard therapy are almost universally non-existent.
Despite many studies relating to the development of therapeutic interventions for melanoma, there has been little progress in this field. Indeed, apart from surgical intervention and the use of chemotherapeutic agents, there is no effective treatment for Stage IV melanoma. The present invention relates to a method of treating Stage IV melanoma by the use of a vaccine produced from melanoma cells.
A reference herein to a patent document or other matter which is given as prior art is not to be taken as an admission that that document or matter was known or that the information it contains was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of any of the claims.